It’s that time of year. Middle to late March I start getting things ready to open the pool. I will be opening it the 14th of April. It’ll take a week to clean it, hook everything up, put the steps back in, balance the chemicals and throw away all the old stuff. Personally I’d love to just get rid of it. But the wife and girls enjoy it. As long as they enjoy it, I’ll keep opening it, maintaining it, and closing it. I think if I didn’t have to maintain it and deal with all the crap that comes with pool ownership I’d enjoy swimming in it. But I hardly ever get in it. And this year I have to buy more stuff. Specifically chemicals (that’s a purchase made every year), new sand for the filter, a new winter cover. The one we got with the pool in 1997 finally gave out. I was hoping to get at least another year or five out of it. 🙂 And it looks like I am going to need to do some repair work to the deck around the pool. No matter what anyone tells you, pools are nothing but a money pit!! I’ll spend about $200 on chemicals. I’ll spend probably $100 in parts for the pool (includes winter cover) and probably $200 on fixing the deck. Last year it was $200 for chemicals, $300 for a new pool liner, $100 to refill the pool, $100 in parts to hook up a solar heater to the pool, $150 for the solar heater … the year before … well I think you get the picture. We have a family membership to the YMCA. It has 3 indoor pools and 2 outdoor pools. We have passes to Kings Island Amusement Park (now under new ownership) and they have an outdoor water-park. Why do I need to have a pool when we have access to so many other pools? Because my wife and girls want it. And what they want, I find a way to get.

With all the questions I get about my pool liner, I’ll repost info on it. I’ll also document my opening process and the chemicals I use.